The announcement of the insurance programme, in partnership with AXA, came today (May 23) as Uber admitted it had “lost sight” that its drivers were the heart of the uber experience.

The ride hailing firm also said it had “focused too much on growth and not enough on the people who made that growth possible”.

This programme covers all eligible partners in the UK for major costs or lost income resulting from accidents or injuries that occur on trip.

It also provides protection for major life events that happen off trip like severe sickness and injury, maternity or paternity leave and jury duty.

To be eligible for the off-trip insurance, a driver partner must have completed 150 trips in the previous eight weeks; while an Eats partner must have completed at least 30 deliveries in the previous eight weeks to qualify.

The insurance programme commences from June 1 2018 and will instantly cover more than 150,000 independent Uber partners across Europe, including 70,000 drivers and couriers in the UK.